Stuart Broad has told his England players to beware the danger posed by Afghanistan when they start their World Twenty20 campaign in Sri Lanka today.

Gearing up: England captain Stuart Broad (Picture: Getty Images)

England may be the reigning champions and ranked No.1 in the world but their captain has twice before been burned by so-called ‘minnows’ in major tournaments – against Ireland in last year’s World Cup and also Holland in the 2009 World T20.

Broad takes charge of one of the youngest England squads in living memory, with just two players over the age of 27 in Michael Lumb and Graeme Swann.

But they must not let complacency or inexperience be a decisive factor against an Afghanistan side who served warning of their potential to cause an upset when they ran India close during a 23-run defeat in Wednesday’s tournament opener.

‘Any international you have to be on top of your game,’ said Broad. ‘Look at the times we haven’t been. Ireland took us down in a 50-over game and the Netherlands took us down as well.

‘The shorter the game the more dangerous these teams are and Afghanistan aren’t going to hold back with the bat, put it that way. It will be important we keep our cool. It’s also important for us to be aware of the dangers of Afghanistan and they are dangerous.’

England’s preparations in Sri Lanka couldn’t have gone better after warm-up wins against Australia and Pakistan. ‘It is important we get out of the blocks quickly,’ added Broad.

‘We have been slow to do that in previous tournaments. We have not had this sort of preparation and build up. We have had time to settle and develop and our two warm up games we have won.’